The present invention relates to a movably suspended child receiving seat wherein the motion of the suspended child receiving seat can be converted between a traditional swinging motion a gliding motion. More particularly, conversion between the traditional swinging motion and the gliding motion is accomplished by relocating the upper ends of the pairs of seat suspension arms from a separated relationship to a substantially axially aligned relationship.
Young children have a need to be physically stimulated. Gentle rocking in a parent's arms is one of the most basic parental stimulations. In order to provide relief to a parent from continuous holding and rocking of a child, some child receiving devices simulate the rocking motion of a parent's arms. Child receiving devices such as gliders and swings generally include a seat portion for receiving a child, seat suspension arms having lower ends attached to the child receiving seat for suspending the seat above a supporting surface and a support frame for pivotally supporting the upper ends of the seat suspension arms and the seat above the supporting surface.
The seat portion of a child swing provides different movement characteristics than the seat of a gliders. Movement characteristic differences are evident from the connection between the seat suspension arm upper ends and the support frame. For example, child swings generally provide a pivotal (arcuate) movement to child seat. The, the child in the swing seat experiences an arcuate swinging motion (with the seat suspension arms suspending the seat from a single pivot axis). On the other hand, gliders provide a translational (front-to-back quasi-linear translation) movement to the child seat. This quasi-linear translation is produced because the upper ends of the pairs of seat suspension arms suspend the seat from two linearly spaced pivot axes, one near the front of the glider and one near the rear of the glider. Because the swings and gliders provide different seat motions they also provide different riding experiences. As a result some users prefer one over the other or prefer both, but at different times.
There is therefore a need to develop a child seat that can provide both a gliding motion experience as well as a swinging motion experience. Furthermore, there is a need to develop a child seat that can be easily reconfigured between a glider movement mode and a swing movement mode.